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I'm trying to fix my Lupine lights - broken bit of wire, fair enough. However on one of the cables under the insulation it seems to be full of black powdery stuff. I've seen corrosion before, greeny bluey grey stuff, but only within a few mm of a break in insulation. Here there's no visible break and it seems to be the whole way along. I've cut off tons of cable. I've also seen white powdery stuff in cables before, some kind of mineral for something.
Problem is I can't tin the thing cos of all the black stuff. It's really pissing me off, now I can't commute tomorrow cos I've got no lights.
The White powder is usually chalk/talc like substance to aid stripping of the cable from the PVC. Black???
dark matter?
i have seen it before but no idea of cause or what ot was mine was on a bilge pump so cable had been constanly underwater.
I guess ingress of water is the cause can you not just twine th ewire together or use another connector type instead?
Black wire corrosion?
Often thought to be caused by leaking electrolyte and damp.
Left lights in garage/shed with batteries connected?
Damp - possibly although not exessively so - garage isn't that damp.
Never left with the battery connected.
Insulation doesn't strip very well and the black wire is different to the yellow one somehow. Yellow one is nice silicone high temp stuff still all floppy and the copper's clean; the black insulation has gone stiff and thin. Perhaps something's degraded the insulation.
The lights were left in a plastic bag over the summer, maybe with a leaking bottle of green oil lube.. but they weren't covered in goo or anything.
Looks like another re-wire is necessary, which is a pain because I can't find sleeving that's as nice as the stuff Lupine used, nor can I get hold of new connectors easily. Plus if I order stuff online it'll be daylight savings time by the time I get it.
I bought a couple of Lupine extension leads online and used those for spare plugs - if you put some heat shrink over each wire as you solder the wires from the sockets to the wire from the switch and then a larger one over the whole thing it looks fine and is well sealed.
Nice tip.
Although, the connectors are a bit rubbish so I might as well replace them all with a better connector if I can find one at the local techno-nerd shop.
I've seen that in mains cables. Usually put it down to degradation and replace. Often than not it's heat. Seen it a lot with non copper conductors.
The outer colour thing isn't a silly thought. Some insulation is made from recycled plastic and not as good, usually red and black.
Though I'm talking from a mains perspective here.
If you can't tin it then I would say its the classic sysptom. Has happened to something of mine that was stored in the garage, Batteries never left connected.
Rewire it is then.
Cheers folks, didn't think this thread would get any replies 🙂